5 Things Gold Investors Have to Be Thankful For

It’s that time of year again, when families around the country gather together to eat turkey, watch football, and give thanks for everything they’ve been blessed with over the past year. Investors are no different, particularly given the performance of stock markets over the past few years. But for many investors looking warily at stock markets and wondering when the bubble is going to burst, their thankfulness is mixed in with a growing sense of unease.

Thankfully, there are other investment options out there to help investors protect their wealth and protect against stock market crashes. Gold is among those, as countless investors have known throughout the years. Here are just a few of the things gold investors have to be thankful for this year.

1. Legalized Gold Ownership

Most investors alive today probably don’t remember that it was once illegal for US citizens to own gold. Thanks to FDR’s executive order in 1933, and subsequent legislation passed in 1934, American citizens were largely forbidden from owning non-numismatic gold coins. That made it impossible for Americans to invest in gold in order to safeguard their wealth. Even holding gold abroad was made illegal.

Thankfully that all changed in 1975, which was helped by the reaction to President Nixon’s closing of the gold window in 1971. Now that gold was no longer solely the domain of governments and was allowed to move freely on world markets, its price began to climb. And that meant that investors wanted access to it.

The push to legalize gold ownership in the US was successful, and has benefited thousands of investors over the years. Since 1971 gold has outperformed stock markets, and its performance over the last 20 years in particular has been nothing short of amazing. None of that would have been possible had it not been for the concerted efforts of activists and investors who wanted to be able to take advantage of the protection that only gold can offer.

2. Gold’s Performance This Year

With the stock market bull run of the past few years, gold’s performance had been somewhat stagnant, leading even the most determined gold investors to wonder whether gold was still a good investment. Gold’s performance this year has put those questions to rest, as its price gains have matched or exceeded what even the most bullish analysts predicted at the beginning of the year.

Predictions for next year are for gold to reach or exceed $1,600, a level that should be reached pretty easily. That will particularly be true if 2020 sees stock markets begin to take the slide that many analysts are expecting.

3. Gold’s Ability to Protect Wealth

There is no other asset out there that can protect wealth as effectively as gold does. When stock markets crash, gold begins to soar. Millions of investors found that out the hard way in 2008, as they saw their 401(k) and brokerage accounts plummeting along with stock markets, all while gold began to increase. Even when stock markets began to recover from their lows in 2009, gold continued to rise.

Many investors vowed back then not to make the same mistake twice. They didn’t want to see their portfolios lose half of their value or more while gold shot through the roof. And that’s why so many investors are turning their attention to gold today, making sure to buy gold before stock markets crash again.

4. There’s Still Time to Buy Gold

While the outlook for gold in the long term is incredibly bullish, it isn’t too late to buy gold. Many investors may look at gold’s performance this year and think that they’ve missed out on a great opportunity, but that isn’t true. Gold will only continue to rise as the economy weakens, the trade war intensifies, and stock markets begin to turn south.

5. Tax-Advantaged Gold Retirement Savings

Many investors who might otherwise want to buy gold may be unfamiliar with all the ways they can invest in gold. Maybe they see gold as something they can only buy at their local coin shop, or something they can only invest in through a gold ETF. Maybe they’re looking at their 401(k) and thinking that they can’t invest any of their savings into gold. But that’s not the case.

Through a gold 401(k) to IRA rollover, investors can roll over existing retirement savings from their 401(k), 403(b), TSP, and similar retirement accounts into a gold IRA tax-free. That allows them the ability to protect their existing retirement investment portfolio while benefiting from the protection that only gold can offer. They don’t have to worry about tax consequences, as they’re just moving funds from one tax-advantaged account to another.

Whether you’re already a gold investor or starting to look at investing in gold to protect your retirement savings, the fact that gold exists as an investment option is something to be thankful for. Many investors around the world don’t have that option, or have it significantly curtailed through duties or taxes. We should be thankful for all the options we Americans have as investors, and take advantage of them as best we can to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable retirement.